A police department in Southern California is defending the $153,000 purchase of a Tesla Cybertruck, citing its "cool factor" at community events as one of the reasons it was needed. Irvine Police Department's new Tesla Cybertruck is believed to be the first such use of the electric pickup in the United States. Since purchasing the Cybertruck, the Irvine Police Department has begun having the Cybertruck outfitted for police use, something they've posted about on social media. The completed project is expected to debut later this year, but documents obtained through a public records request show a six-figure price tag that concerns some who study police spending. A hefty payment up front, but savings expected to follow The Irvine Police Department is shelling out over $150,000 for the Cybertruck, an amount the department declined to release without the filing of a public records request. Part of that cost is due to the model purchased by the Irvine Police Department. The 2024 Tesla Cyberbeast, a higher-performance and more expensive edition of the idiosyncratic Cybertruck, cost the city more than $132,000, but it was the only model available at the time, said Sgt. Karie Davies. Yosemite to get a facelift, how you can help In addition, the "off-site law enforcement equipment installation" for the Cybertruck requires the city to pay nearly $21,000 more for the work to be done by a Hawthorne-based business, bringing the total to more than $153,000. The Irvine Police Department tweeted this image of a police Cybertruck on July 24, 2024. That equipment, such as police lights and communications gear, is necessary for any police vehicle so it can be used properly if called upon, Davies explained. As the police department previously detailed, the Cybertruck won't be used as a patrol vehicle, though it could step in if it were the closest unit to a major crash or other emergency. While the $153,000 price tag might shock some — a civilian with that budget would leave a dealership with a luxury vehicle like the Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo or BMW Alpina B8 Gran Coupe — that figure is not too far out of the ordinary for law enforcement vehicles, Davies said. Gas-powered patrol vehicles cost about $116,000, Davies said, and they require thousands more in gasoline and maintenance over their lifetime, which is typically three to five years. Those costs are far less for a Cybertruck, which the Irvine Police Department expects to last at least twice as long. "This cost more on the front end, but also, this will be used for 10-plus years," she said. For the most part, though, the Tesla will be used for its "cool factor" at community-facing events and as part of the department's Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, which needed a new vehicle, Davies said. "The DARE cars are always the fun ones and good community-interaction cars because they usually have fun graphics and are good showpieces to engage with the community," Davies said. "The kids love to sit in them and play with the lights and the sirens and have cool cars to look at." 'Nice, shiny toy' or investment in public safety? Police may be excited about the cutting-edge vehicle's addition to the fleet, but some who study police spending think the funds could be better used elsewhere. Bennett Capers, a Fordham Law School professor who also serves as director of the Center on Race, Law, and Justice, said it's important to remember that while government agencies can have large budgets, it's all still taxpayer money, and he does not believe a Cybertruck will actually help police discourage drug use and criminal activity among children. Instead, Capers said, it "really feels like boys wanting a toy," as there are more effective ways to build relationships with kids. From a police perspective, however, the purchase seems to be relatively normal. Roger Hilton, president of the California Fraternal Order of Police, deferred to the Irvine Police Department on specifics but pointed to the community engagement benefits that come with the use of a Cybertruck. "Irvine Police, like most law enforcement agencies, continue to take community outreach and community partnership seriously," Hilton said in a statement. "It is not uncommon for police agencies to find ways to engage their residents in conversations. The use of a Cybertruck for a program like DARE is one such way to continue with the engagement and partnership a police agency has with their community." Amid this large-scale trend of lower clearance rates, Males suggested local leaders press law enforcement as to why so many crimes are unsolved while police budgets are being used on a "nice, shiny toy" like a Cybertruck to improve the department's reputation. "I think it's up to the city administrators to say, 'We're much more concerned that you're not solving crime than that you may have some trouble with public relations,'" Males said. Brittenay Causieestko-Lee, director of community engagement for the nonprofit Center for Policing Equity, explained that budget transparency is a concern for many, and city officials may have to answer for expenditures like this. "Spending $150,000 on such a high-performance vehicle for a program like DARE seems very excessive, especially for your taxpayers, especially when there's cheaper alternatives as well," she said. "And so a lot of that can cause tension, because many residents may feel that taxpayer money could be better spent on urgent community needs like education, housing or infrastructure." Causieestko-Lee added that the Irvine Police Department could be justified in making this purchase — it could be exactly what Irvine residents are excited to see from their police department — but the Irvine Police Department would be well-advised to quantify what successful Cybertruck usage looks like and share those performance figures with the community. "The decision to purchase something like that, it kind of lacks clear justification, which is why, probably, public scrutiny has grown," she said. "So transparent budgeting is crucial because it allows taxpayers to really understand how funds are allocated and it ensures that they're spent in ways that benefit the entire community." The cost of crime prevention Davies disputes that the Cybertruck is just a flashy toy for the department; rather, it's being used as part of efforts to avert criminal activity. Though the purchase was entirely separate from patrol operations and crime fighting, the Cybertruck's use in the DARE program will educate children on the dangers of drugs and crime and encourage law-abiding behavior, which can prevent crimes before they occur, she said. Additionally, officers rely on the support of the community when performing their duties, making public outreach a priority for the Irvine Police Department. "We feel that using this vehicle or vehicles like this, not necessarily a Tesla, are a good conversation piece, and it breaks down those barriers with the community and allows people to come up and talk to us, and ultimately that's our goal, to build those relationships," she said. Capers agrees that police need to have a strong relationship with the community, though he feels the Cybertruck is not the most effective route for building those ties. "I'm a strong believer in going into communities and asking them what would be helpful to them," he said. "My guess is if you ran into highly policed communities and asked what would help bring down crime or solve crime or deter people from using drugs, my guess is none of them are going to answer 'Oh, if only our police department had a Tesla Cybertruck.'"